Yoke or shoulder-weight carrier



R. P. ORR. YOKR 0R SHOULDER WEIGHT CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 14, 1918.

Patented May 11, 1920.

@ INVE/VY'OI? ROBER P RR,

WITNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT P. ORR, OF ALBANY, NEW YORK.

YOKE 0B. SHOULDER-WEIGHT CARRIER.

Application filed September 14, 1918.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Ronnnr I. ORR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Yoke or Shoulder-W eight Carrier, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to weight supporting means for-the shoulders of a person and has for an object the provision of an improved construction adapted to fit against the shoulders in such a manner that the weights connected therewith will be supported evenly over the entire shoulders, the arrangement being such that weights may be positioned. so as to be supported by either shoulder or both shoulders simultaneously.

Another object in view is to provide a yoke having a curved section and a neck opening together with a back connecting section, the curves conforming substantially to the back and shoulders, and the entire arrangement being such. that the yoke may be positioned inside of a coat between the lining and the outer part of the coat, beneath the coat, or on top of the coat and act as a supporting means for a strap or other sup porting member placed on the shoulder.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a yoke or the shoulders and means for holding the yoke in place so that it will not move independently nor slide off the shoulders when in use.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a view of a figure with an embodiment of the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a. rear view of the figure shown in Fig. 1 showing the arrangement of the rear part of the device applied to the figure.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the figure showing a slightly modified form of the invention.

Fig. 1 is another fragmentary view of the figure showing a further modified form of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of a still further modified form of the invention to that shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawing by numerals, 1 indicates the yoke made of metal provided with shoulder sections 2 and 3 connected together by a back or rear sec tion 4 whereby there will be a neck opening Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1920.

Serial No. 254,110.

5' provided which will permit the yoke to properly fit on the shoulders and conform to the shape of a person while allowing theneck and head free movement. The shoulder sections 2 and o are provided with pressed up lugs 6 which are designed to act as stops for preventing a strap or other article placed on the shoulder from becoming accidentally dislodged. As shown in Fig. 4; the strap l i is shown in position on the shoulder and held in place by the projections 6, but it will be evident that the lugs or projections 6 will act for preventing other articles from being dislodged, for instance the rifle strap of a soldier in case the yoke is used by a soldier.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the yoke 1 has a pair of resilient bars 7'rigidly secured thereto at 8 and 9, said bars being formed so as to extend beneath the arms and connected to the rear sections 4 by any suitable means as for instance hooks 10 and 11. If desired the hooks 1.0 and 11 could be eliminated and the bars 7 rigidly secured to the front sections 2 and 3 by rivets or otherwise and the rear sections of said bars allowed to remain free. Either of these structures as well as other structures may be used for holding the yoke in proper position on the shoulders. As an instance of other ways of holding the yoke in place it will be observed that in Fig. 4 a yoke 1 is held in place by a line oi stitching 12. In this form of the invention the yoke 1 is formed as part of the garment and is positioned between the outer part of the garment and the lining so that the stitching 12 will properly hold the same in place and the lugs 6 will cause the raised portion 13 to be provided so that the strap 14 cannot readily slip oil the shoulders. This arrangement may be used for mail carriers, soldiers, or other persons carrying a weight and where it may be undesirable to have the yoke in view.

In Fig. 3 a modified arrangement is shown in which the straps 15 and 16 are secured by any suitable means as for instance stitches to the coat or other clothing, said straps coacting with buckles 17 and 18 secured to the shoulder sections 2 and 3.

In Fig. 5 a further modified arrangement is shown wherein the yoke is held in place by an extension 19 formed integral with the respective sections 2 and 3. The extensions 19 extend loosely beneath the arms, or extend beneath the arms and are connected to the rear part of the yoke 1 by means of a hook 520 and connecting links 21.

In the forms of theinvention shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 5 bags 22 may be connected to the yoke by having the hooks 23 of the bags interlocked with the bars '4' or the extension 19. In the forms shown in Figs. 3 and at a weight is placed either directly on the yoke or is supported by the yoke through a strap 14 or other similar means.

The use of yokes for carrying weights is well known and a yoke somewhat similar to thepresent invention is shown in my copending application Serial No. 201,821, but in this copending application and in the yokes heretofore in use the retaining means for holding the yoke in place is not found, nor the particular arrangement shown in Figs. 8, 4c and 5.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. A weight supporting harness for. persons comprising a flat piece of sheet metal having a central notch, said piece being bient to fi t the back and shoulders of a perton 2 whereby there will be a section resting againstthe back and a pair of sections extending-to the front, a buckle arranged adjacent each of the front sections, and a strap connected to the coat of the wearer associated with each of said buckles for preventing said front sections from slipping off the shoulders.

2. A weight supporting harness for a person comprising a yoke structure cut from a single piece or" sheet metal bent to form aback section extending across the back beneath the neck and a pair of forwardly extending shoulder sections extending to a point over the chest, a buckle secured to= each of said shoulder sections, and a separate retaining strap attached to the coat of the wearer for each buckle adapted to engage and interlock with said buckles for securing the yoke structure in place.

ROBERT P. ORR. 

